IUCN status: Vulnerable
EPBC Predator Threat Rating: Very high
IUCN claim: “ Recent research has demonstrated marked detrimental impact of introduced predators: Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes) and feral Domestic Cats (Felis catus)”
Plains rats remains were found in the foxes’ diet (Pavey et al. 2008; Pavey et al. 2014). Read & Cunningham (2010) described an occasion where more plains rats were captured inside than outside a fenced reserve where carnivores were excluded. Rats were last confirmed at Koonchera Dune, SA, 24 years after foxes arrived (Current submission).
Rats were last confirmed in NSW 63 years before foxes arrived (Current submission).
There are no studies evidencing a negative association between foxes
and plains rats which report data. In contradiction with the claim, NSW
extirpation record pre-dates fox arrival record.
Chris R. Pavey, Stephen R. Eldridge, Mike Heywood, Population Dynamics and Prey Selection of Native and Introduced Predators During a Rodent Outbreak in Arid Australia, Journal of Mammalogy, Volume 89, Issue 3, 5 June 2008, Pages 674–683, https://doi.org/10.1644/07-MAMM-A-168R.1
Current submission (2023) Scant evidence that introduced predators cause extinctions. Conservation Biology
EPBC. (2015) Threat Abatement Plan for Predation by Feral Cats. Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, Department of Environment, Government of Australia. (Table A1).
Fairfax, Dispersal of the introduced red fox (Vulpes vulpes) across Australia. Biol. Invasions 21, 1259-1268 (2019).
IUCN Red List. https://www.iucnredlist.org/ Accessed June 2023
Pavey, C.R., Cole, J.R., McDonald, P.J. and Nano, C.E., 2014. Population dynamics and spatial ecology of a declining desert rodent, Pseudomys australis: the importance of refuges for persistence. Journal of Mammalogy, 95(3), pp.615-625.
Read, J.L. and Cunningham, R., 2010. Relative impacts of cattle grazing and feral animals on an Australian arid zone reptile and small mammal assemblage. Austral Ecology, 35(3), pp.314-324.